


Upon Layers of Stone

by JAKQ7111



Category: Leverage, The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Eliot Spencer and Jacob "Jake" Stone are Twins, Eliot Spencer is a Fake Name, Gen, Mentions of Porn Consumption by Teens, Minor Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer, Minor Cassandra Cillian/Ezekiel Jones/Jacob "Jake" Stone, No Sex, No Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2020-10-20 22:09:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20682719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JAKQ7111/pseuds/JAKQ7111
Summary: Back when the famed Eliot Spencer was just plain old Ike Stone, he and his brother knew all of each other's secrets.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic explores the brotherly relationship between Ike "Eliot Spencer" and Jacob Stone throughout the years.

The boys are twelve when Ike catches Jacob reading late into the night.

Ike had just gotten home after a long day of football practice and hunting with his dad. Normally, he would have taken his brother with him, but Jake was home sick that day, or so he had been told. In actuality, he had been out, too, just not anywhere his dad or his brother would find him.

When the time came for the traditional Stone family dinner, Ike was tasked with summoning his “sick” brother to the table. He knocked on the door to their shared bedroom, and was met with silence.

“Jake? Dinner. Dad made a stew out of the rabbits we hunted this afternoon.”

Nothing. No response.

“Dude, come on. You love rabbit stew! If you don't come down, I'm just gonna eat your share!” 

Ike heard what sounded like a groan coming from the other side of the door. Naturally, he took this as an opportunity to kick the door open—perhaps a bit too forcefully for Jake's liking.

“Gah! Dammit, Ike! You could've just opened the door like a normal person for once!” the startled Jake shouted from his bed.

“Well, you could've actually acknowledged the fact that I've been standing here tryin' to get you to come down and eat yer damn dinner for the past two minutes!” Ike replied, growing more frustrated by the second.

“I didn't hear you! I was reading the Illi- I mean, I was taking a nap!” the younger twin lied.

“Cut the crap, Jake! Everyone knows you're the world's worst liar. Now come down for dinner, and we can talk about this later.” Ike replied, anxiously awaiting the chance to chow down on his dad's famous rabbit stew.

“Fine. After dinner.” 

Dinner came and went without further incident. The Stones were never known for their ability or willingness to emote in front of each other, or even talk much about anything beyond business, sports, and hunting. This suited Isaac Sr. very well. His sons, not so much. The twins were practically inseparable, and trusted each other and only each other with their secrets and true emotions.

Once the meal was finished and dishes washed, Ike and Jake muttered their thanks to their dad for preparing the meal, and hurried back upstairs to pick their conversation up where they left off. Ike led the way, while Jake tailed behind to make sure they wouldn't be followed. Once safely in the comfort of their own bedroom, Jake closed and locked the door behind him.

“Alright.” Ike began, looking his brother straight in the eyes, “Now what was up with you today? I know you're not sick, you know you're not sick, and your cover-up was so clumsy that *I* almost fell on my face! What're you hiding, bro?”

“Okay, man. It's like this.” Jake started, before taking a deep, shaky sigh, “You remember that book of Greek myths we had to read for Lit class last month?”

“Yeah.” Ike replied, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, “It was real borin'. What about it?”

“Well, I kinda liked it. Okay, I *really* liked it!” Jake's crystal blue eyes lit up as he talked, “I liked it so much that I wanted to read more about it! I've been spendin' a lot of time at the town library, readin' whatever I could about Greek mythology. I've even been tryin' to teach myself Greek just so I can learn more than I can get from just the English versions! So, I faked bein' sick this mornin', snuck out to go to the library, and checked out their copy of the Illiad in the original Greek. And that's what I was readin' when you knocked on the door earlier.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Ike held his hand up in front of him, “You mean to tell me that you've been sneakin' out to the library, lyin' to me and Dad, badly I might add, and teachin' yourself a whole new *language*, just so you can read more of these stories about gods and monsters?!”

“And heroes, Ike! Tales of adventure and war! Of love and loss! Of guys who can do anything from wrestle a lion to ride a flying horse into battle! Now I don't know about you, but I find that stuff really cool!”

Ike sighed, looked at his giddy twin brother, and smiled at him.  
“When you put it that way, it does sound really cool!” he conceded, “And the fact that you've been teachin' yourself a new language in less than a month? That's even cooler. You're one smart dude, Jake.”

Ike then patted his brother on the shoulder. Jake just grinned and looked down in embarrassment.

“Well, shucks.” he said, laughing slightly as he spoke, “Thank ya.”

He then quickly got serious as he requested, “Now, this has to stay between us, ya hear? I don't want Dad or the kids at school knowin' about this. They'll never stop callin' me an egghead, and I don't want to get beat up over this.”

Ike nodded slowly. “I swear on my life, I won't tell a soul.”

The brothers shook hands to seal their new pact.

“Now, we should probably get some sleep.” Ike suggested. "Don't want Dad busting our butts for stayin' up too late, now would we?”

Jake laughed at this, “No we don't! Good night, bro.”

“Good night.” Ike replied as they both climbed into their beds.


	2. Chapter 2

The boys are fourteen when Jake catches Ike singing in the shower.

It was the evening of the end-of-the-year dance their school put on for the graduating eighth grade class. While neither Ike nor Jake were exactly party animals, they were both asked to the dance by two extremely pretty girls, so who were they to say no? Plus, they knew if they didn't go, they would just have to stay home and watch their dad drink a bottle of bourbon and play poker with the roughnecks from the oil rig. 

The twins raced to the bathroom to decide who would get the first shower, and Ike won. Much to Jake's chagrin, however, Ike decided to take his sweet time, preventing the younger twin from being able to get ready sooner. No matter, he thought. It would give him more time to catch up on his reading. He's been really into Renaissance Italian art, lately, so reading Leonardo Da Vinci's plans captured his momentary attention.

That is, until he heard something coming from outside his bedroom. A familiar, but strange sound echoed in the hallway. Was that...music? He went outside to investigate.

_“should've been a cowboy  
I should've learned to rope and ride  
Wearin' my six-shooter, ridin' my pony on a cattle drive  
Stealin' the young girls' hearts  
Just like Gene and Roy  
Singin' those campfire songs  
Woah, I should've been a cowboy”_

Sure enough, that pleasant, twangy tenor was coming from inside the bathroom. It was Ike, singing a note-perfect rendition of his favorite song. Toby Keith himself would be proud to hear the quiet teenager belt it out.

Jake, however, was less amused. He just wanted to take a shower so he could get ready for the dance, but his brother was taking way too long at this point.

“Hey, Ike!” the younger twin banged on the bathroom door. “Get yer butt out of the shower already! There are some of us still waitin' to use the damn thing!”

“Eep!” Ike yelped from behind the door. “Don't scare me like that! I'll...I'll be right out!”

And sure enough, Ike exited the shower shortly after his peaceful singing was interrupted. He dressed while his brother hastily washed his body and hair, afraid they would be late for the dance if they dawdled much longer.

The twins walked to school. They lived in a small enough town where most everybody did, at least until they got to the big regional high school in Oklahoma City. They began the mile walk in their nice slacks and clean, pressed polo shirts, idly chatting as they went.

“So...” Jake began, an interrogative tone in his voice, “You wanna talk about that song you were singin' in the shower earlier?”

Ike momentarily froze, face flushed with embarrassment. “I don't know what you're talkin' about! I don't sing! I ain't no singer!” he floundered. “You must've been hearin' things again!”

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” Jake quickly retorted, giving his brother a side-eyed look. “Hamlet. Act three, scene two.”

Oh, great. Now he was busting out the Shakespeare again. Ike supposed it wasn't worth it to try and lie to his brother, so he came clean.

“Okay, fine.” the older twin grumbled, “I was singin'. Sometimes I do that...when I don't think people are listenin'. I just had the radio on earlier, and that Toby Keith song must've got stuck in my head. T' be honest, I didn't even know I was doin' it until you knocked on the door!” he let out a nervous laugh. “It...wasn't bad, was it?”

“No, not at all!” Jake slapped his brother on the back. “It sounded great! You have a real gift, bro! Heck, maybe you could try takin' lessons, and maybe make a livin' out of it in a few years! Sure beats stickin' around here, doesn't it?”

Ike sighed heavily after hearing his brother's words of well-meaning encouragement. “I'm afraid that just ain't gonna be possible.” he sullenly replied. “You know how Dad can be. He's expectin' me to take over the oil rig once he passes. He didn't name me Isaac Jr. for nothin'. An' besides, he's so stuck in his ways, he wouldn't dare pay for lessons. Shower singin' and karaoke is all my 'talent' will ever be.”

“A cryin' shame, it is.” Jake agreed, shaking his head. “But I get ya. I'd love to go to college someday, but if Dad has anythin' to say about it, I won't get the chance.”

He looked up, and realized they were nearing the school. They would have to continue this conversation later. Both brothers still wanted to keep their “talents” hidden from most of their classmates, after all.

“Well, looks like we're here.” the younger twin finally smiled at his brother. “We'd better get inside. You wouldn't wanna keep Aimee waiting, after all!”

Ike's face lit up as he thought about sharing a dance with his date. “I sure wouldn't!” he perkily replied. “And I'm sure Cynthia's already in there lookin' for ya!”

Jake giggled with anticipation. “Well then, brother. Shall we?” he gestured to the front door.

Ike simply nodded his head as he entered the building, an exciting evening ahead of the two.


	3. Chapter 3

The boys are fifteen when they find each other's porn stashes.

Now, the two of them collecting porn magazines and watching lewd videos on the Internet wasn't surprising; they were, after all, two red-blooded, All-American boys with healthy drives. No, the shocking part was the content of said magazines and lewd videos.

Jake was the first to stumble upon his brother's magazine collection. He kept it tucked away in the back of the twins' bookshelf, behind their schoolbooks. The younger twin was reaching to grab his biology textbook to get started on his homework, when a suspicious magazine fell off of the shelf.

“What the-?” he muttered to himself as he picked up the errant magazine. On the cover was a handsome, well-muscled man with glistening pecs and abs. The title on top read _“Mandate.”_ Naturally, Jake's next move was to interrogate his brother over what he just found.

“Ike!” the younger twin boomed, stepping outside to find his brother doing some yard work in the front of the house. “Get over here! I need to talk to you!”

Ike was startled by his brother's sudden appearance, assuming he'd be doing his homework by now. “Gah!” he screamed, turning to face his twin with wide eyes. “What the hell do you want?! I'm kinda busy!”

“It's important.” Jake plainly replied, grabbing his brother's arm and pulling him towards the house. “Our room. Now.”

Ike rolled his eyes, but he allowed himself to be led inside and up the stairs to their bedroom. Once safely inside, Jake closed the door and locked it, looking Ike square in the eye.

“D'you mind tellin' me what this is all about?” the younger twin swiftly held up the magazine he found. “Really, Ike?”

The older twin looked like a deer in headlights. “I-it's not what it looks like!” he clumsily tried to cover.

“Really? Because it looks like a _gay porn magazine!_ And it says _you're_ the subscriber! Unless there's another Isaac Stone Jr. out there somewhere!”

“Alright, alright!” Ike raised his hands in concession. “That's mine. I started subscribin' to _Mandate_ six months ago. The week after you and I pooled our money to get _Playboy._ I was hidin' it as best I could. Didn't want you or Pop findin' out. Guess my hidin' spot was crap...”

“Yeah. Guess it was.” Jake confirmed, significantly calmer now that his brother confessed. “But I've gotta ask. What does this mean? Are you gay? I thought you were in love with Aimee?”

“Don't say the L-word out loud!” the elder twin snipped back. “And...I don't really know.” he lowered his head, stepping further into the room. “I guess I'm just confused. Like, one day, I'm makin' out with Aimee and everything's great, right? And then the next day, I catch myself checkin' out some dude on the street! Is that what being gay is?”

Jake paused, taking in his brother's confession. To be honest, although his love life wasn't quite the same as Ike's, he held similar feelings himself. After a minute or so, he spoke back up.

“Ike?” he started. “Have you ever heard the word 'bisexual'? Basically, it means you can be attracted to guys, gals, whatever,and it won't really matter much which you date.”

Now it was Ike's turn to soak in his brother's words. “Bisexual?” he repeated. “So...it's okay to like both?”

“I don't see anything wrong with it.” Jake shrugged. “There's a long tradition of male bisexuality in places like ancient Athens! It's real fascinatin' stuff if you think about it.”

“Yeah, yeah, you're always thinkin'.” Ike rolled his eyes. “And that certainly explains what I saw you lookin' at on the computer the other day!”

“...crap.” Jake replied, now realizing that he wasn't the only one to discover the other's erotic media of choice. “Caught me red-handed, didn't ya...” he sighed. “Yeah, I was lookin' at some...ChiChi LaRue movies...when I thought you were sleepin'. Apparently I was wrong.”

He sighed again before giving his brother the full explanation. “Look, Ike. I'm pretty sure I'm bisexual, too. Remember when you had Aimee over and I went to my buddy Sleighton's to give ya some space? Well, Sleighton ain't just a buddy to me...we're datin', just like you and Aimee are.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Ike started back up. “Are you tellin' me that you have a boyfriend? And you're somehow hidin' this from me, Pop, everyone?”

“Hey, that ain't the only thing I'm hidin' from Pop and the rest of the world! You know my other secret, after all!”

“Yeah, I do.” the elder twin continued. “Well then why didn't you at least tell me? We're brothers, remember? We keep each other's secrets!”

“Really, 'bro?'” Jake shot back. “Because last I checked, this whole damn conversation started because I found _your_ secret gay porn collection! So don't go preachin' to me when you're just as bad!”

“Fine, fine.” Ike grumbled. “I guess we're even, then. But no more secrets, okay? You and me, we've gotta stick together. Stone brothers for life, right?” he reached out his hand.

The younger twin shook his brother's hand, blue eyes sparkling as he smirked at him. “Stone brothers for life.” he repeated. “Just two good ol' American boys, except these boys like both girls and other boys!”

That handshake sealed the deal between the brothers. They would keep each other's deepest, darkest secrets, and promise never to judge the other for what lurks inside their minds and hearts.


End file.
